Rekindling the Flames
by CoJoThom98
Summary: The flame between Sunset Shimmer and Flash Sentry has long gone out. For the longest time they simply avoided each other, trying to keep old wounds closed. After the events of the Camp Everfree, the two agree to start over again as friends, not wanting to let a rough past define them. However, this rekindling of friendship may have accidently ignited other feelings as well.
1. Ch 1 Well, This is Awkward

It's a beautiful, Friday afternoon in Canterlot city. The sun shines high in the sky with a few clouds dotting the blue background, giving occasional shade. The temperature outside sits within the 60-degree range, creating a feeling similar to be hugged by a grandmother. The birds fly across the sky and from tree to tree, singing their songs. A few spring flowers are still on the trees, dotting the green spheres with spots of white, purple, pink, and bright red. Squirrels run across the lawn, chasing each other and searching for food. The entire world outside is a picture of paradise.

A paradise just out of Sunset's grasp while she's sits in AP European Literature. She sits in the back corner of the classroom with her two friends Twilight Sparkle, who sits in front of her, and Fluttershy, who sits to Sunset's left. The three of them listen to Mr. Doodle drone on about the themes and lessons of Hamlet. While the three girls usually enjoy this class, this subject is one of their least favorites. Twilight has never liked Hamlet, she calls the main character a "boneless, indecisive child who can't even figure out what socks he should wear." Fluttershy never much cared for Shakespeare, she always found the language to be confusing and the themes too hard to understand. As for Sunset, well she always summed up Shakespeare as "too much talking and not enough action," though she does find Macbeth interesting.

As they listen, or try to listen, to Mr. Doodle, they each occasionally look outside and then back up at the clock hanging in the front of the room above the white board. Each time they do, the clock always seems to be moving slower. Sunset leans forward to whisper something to Twilight, "Is it possible for time to move slower than normal in this world," she asks in a hushed tone.

"Not really," Twilight whispers back, "but that's still a topic up for debate."

"How long do you think he's going keep talking about this skull monologue?"

"I'm not sure, wanna make a wager about it," Twilight suggests.

"Are we wagering about something," Fluttershy interjects with a quiet tone.

"Yeah," Sunset responds, "whoever guesses correctly, or is the closest, to how long Mr. Doodle is going to talk about this skull, gets...," the girls think about a proper award.

Twilight thinks of something, "a free drink and treat of their choice at Sugar Cube Corner, losers have to pay."

"That sounds fair," says Sunset.

"I like it," whispers Fluttershy.

"Let's fist bump on it," says Sunset. Twilight and Sunset hold out their left fists and Fluttershy holds out her right. The three girls make a three-way fist bump and nod in agreement. "Alright, I'm going to put my money on...two minutes before the final bell rings," Sunset bets.

"An interesting guesstimation," Twilight responded, "judging by how long he takes with every line and how detailed he's making this monologue deconstruction, I'm going to say he'll end right as the bell rings."

"You may be smart Twilight, but this is your first class with Mr. Doodle," said Fluttershy with a small smug smile, "I've had him before freshman year in AP English 9 and sophomore year in AP American Literature. The bell will ring, he'll say, 'the bell doesn't dismiss you, I do,' and then he'll take roughly 30 seconds, to deliver his final point, then he'll dismiss us."

"That's very specific Fluttershy, are you sure you wanna go with that," asks Sunset, Fluttershy nods in response, "well alright then, the bets have been made, let the games begin."

"What are you three whispering about back there," shouts Mr. Doodle.

The three girls shoot up into an upright position, "nothing sir," they shout back in unison.

"Well then quit your yapping," says Mr. Doodle, "I don't want to give my three best students detention for disrupting class."

Suddenly, the final bell for the day rings. As the students begin to pack up their things, Mr. Doodle declares, "hold on everyone, the bell doesn't dismiss you, I do."

Sunset and Twilight look at each other in disbelief. _No way, there's no way she could be right_, Sunset thinks. _Don't tell me her prediction is correct_, Twilight thinks. They both look over at Fluttershy, who's face is growing a small smile. Sure enough, Mr. Doodle takes 29 seconds to deliver his final point about the skull of Yorick.

Twilight leans her head back in defeat, clinching her eyes. "Darn it," she groans.

Sunset gives her desk a swift and light pound with her fist. "Damn it," she mutters.

Fluttershy closes her eyes, smiles, and gently claps her hands. "Yippee," she quietly cheers.

The girls gather up their belongings and proceed to exit the classroom with the rest of their classmates, after Mr. Doodle dismisses them. They walk out the classroom and stop in the hall to chat for a bit before they start heading towards the exit.

"Well, Fluttershy," Twilight says reaching out her hand inviting Fluttershy to shake, "you've won again, fair and square." Fluttershy generously accepts the handshake.

"That's like the fifth time I've bet against you Fluttershy," says Sunset, "I'm taking you with me to Vegas someday."

"It's all about knowing your teachers," says Fluttershy, "Shall we go meet up with everyone else?"

"You girls go ahead," say Sunset, "I have to get somethings from my locker." The girls wave to each other as they split off.

Sunset's locker is just up the hall from the literature class. She gets to the locker, unlocks and opens the door, and searches through looking for a few items. _Come on, where did I put them. Ah, there they are._ She pulls out two paperback books and a sheet of paper. The paper is a list of criteria for a paper she's working on in her AP World History course. She sets the items on the floor as she closes and locks the door. She picks them back up, tucking the books in her left arm and holding the paper in her right hand. As she walks, she reviews the paper to make sure she has everything she needs to begin the assignment this weekend. _Let's see, "two printed primary sources" I've got those, "two digital primary sources and one secondary source" got those saved on my computer at home, what else do I need?_ Sunset's eyes are fixed on the list, not paying attention to what's in front of her. All of a sudden, WHAM, she walks straight into someone, dropping her books.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry," Sunset apologizes as she picks up one of her books.

"No no, it's ok, I wasn't paying attention," says the other person as he picks up the other book and hands it to her.

"Thank you for getting th-," Sunset stops mid-sentence when she looks at the person she just ran into, "oh, um...hey, Flash."

"Oh uh hey, Sun-set," says Flash as he realizes it was his ex-girlfriend he ran into, "how's it going?" A strong tinge of awkwardness begins creeping in.

"It's uh...it's going good," Sunset says, awkwardly nodding, "How about you?"

"Same," he says, Flash puts his hands in his back pockets and leans back on his heels.

"I... see you got a new haircut," says Sunset, desperately trying to break the awkward pauses.

Flash combs his left hand through his hair, "yeah, I figured it was time tone down the size a bit."

"It looks good on you," she says with a half-smile.

"Thanks," Flash responds. The two break eye contact, trying to avoid making the awkwardness any more unbearable. Flash rubs the back of his neck while Sunset rubs her left arm. "Well, I guess I'll...see you around?"

"Uh yeah, yeah, see ya later," says Sunset, _just go, get out there, don't make it worse, don't make it worse_, "alli-gator." _DAMN IT!_

"After a while," says Flash, _wait, what I am doing? Don't say it me, don't you say it, don't you dare say_, "croco-dile." _That's it, I'm going to jump in front of car now!_

They walk past each other, ending the cringe-fest. "Ugh, why the hell did I say that," Sunset mutters to herself as she pinches the bridge of her nose in embarrassment.

* * *

Sunset Shimmer walks through the front glass doors of the high school and out onto the courtyard. Her cheeks are still red from her embarrassing conversation with Flash. Actually, it really wasn't a conversation, rather it was a fumbling of words with awkward pauses in between that ended with a part of them each dying inside. Sunset walks down the path toward her friends who are all gathered around the pedestal.

"Hey, Sunset, how's it goi-," Rainbow Dash greets her friend but pauses when she notices the redness in Sunset's cheeks, "are you ok?"

"Did you accidentally walk into the boys bathroom again," Pinkie asks as she jumps up from behind Rainbow.

Twilight, who is sitting up against the pedestal reading a book, looks up from her book upon hearing what Pinkie said, "wait, again, what do you mean 'again'," she asks.

"It's a long story," Applejack, leaning against the pedestal, explains as she bites into an apple, "we'll tell you about it later."

"Applejack, manners," Rarity snaps, who is kneeling on the ground braiding Fluttershy's hair.

"So what happened," Rainbow insists.

Sunset reaches her right hand behind her neck, "Well, I kind of ran into someone on my way here."

"Really? Who," squeaks Pinkie.

"Flash Sentry," says Sunset.

Pinkie, Rainbow, Applejack, and Twilight all let out a collective, "oooh." Their faces transform from intrigue to slight discomfort.

"Did you two...um...talk much," asks Rarity.

"Not...really, it was..." before Sunset could finish, the girls make guesses about the ending.

"Terrifying," says Fluttershy.

"Awkward," says Twilight.

"Uncomfortable," says Pinkie.

"Cringy," says Rainbow.

"Wanted to shoot yourself afterwards," says Applejack, the rest of girls minus Sunset look at Applejack, "what?"

Sunset lets out a heavy sigh, "all of the above."

"Well, hopefully you two gave each other a good farewell," asks Rarity, which prompted Sunset to rub her neck harder and cause her cheeks to blush brighter.

Rainbow, seeing her body language, knew what she did but hoped she really didn't, "oh no, Sunset please don't tell me you did the alligator thing?" The only response she got was a slow nod of pure embarrassment. Applejack lowered her hat, trying to hide her clenched face. Twilight lifted her book up to do the same. Pinkie didn't bother hiding it, her face clenched up as though she just saw someone get punched in the gut. Rainbow visibly showed her discomfort by covering her face with her right hand. Fluttershy and Rarity just hid behind their hair and both let out an "oof."

"Please tell us Flash didn't respond with the crocodile one," Rarity begs.

"He...did," said Sunset, who's discomfort was reaching critical levels.

Pinkie gives a sheepish grin and places her left hand her head, "I'm going to take the blame for teaching him that," she confesses, giving an awkward chuckle.

"Can we please stop before we all die of cringe," Twilight begs from behind her book.

"I'm going to second that motion," says Applejack as she puts her hat back on.

"I don't understand," says Rainbow as she put her hands on her hips, "I thought the two of you made up at Camp Everfree. Why are you guys acting like you broke up yesterday?"

"Well, I mean we did make up and we didn't," says Sunset.

"Elaborate," Twilight says as she closes her book and gets up to get closer to her friend.

"When I was trying to figure out what was going on with Timber and Gloriosa, Flash and I bumped into each other. We had a small conversation, he talked about how much different I was from when we used to date."

"Sounds like that conversation went a lot better than the last one," says Fluttershy.

"Yeah it did, he was being very sweet," Sunset said, her face warms up and her cheeks began to blush again, not from embarrassment but from amusement.

"No wonder Sweetie Bell ships you two," Rarity mutters, prompting Fluttershy to giggle.

"What was that," says Sunset.

"Nothing darling, keep telling your story," Rarity waves her hand to Sunset, trying to stifle a giggle.

"Anyways," Sunset continues, "he asked me if him and I could start over as friends and I accidentally...brushed him off."

"You WHAT," shouts Rarity as she unintentionally tugs on Fluttershy's hair causing to let out big eep, "oh my goodness, I'm so sorry my dear."

"Accidentally," Sunset emphasizes, "I saw Timber sneaking off into the woods and got distracted. We haven't really talked to each other ever since."

Applejack walks over to Sunset's side and places her hand on her shoulder, "Well, have you thought about arranging a meeting at some time so the two of you can finally put y'all's past behind you?" Sunset looks down, contemplating that idea, not noticing Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie turning their backs to look at something.

"I have but...it's complicated," Sunset sighs.

"I know what you mean darling," says Rarity as she and Fluttershy get up and walk over to Sunset, "trying to start over as friends with an old flame can be extremely difficult. But once you're able to get over that first hump, it's smooth sailing from there."

"But it's not just one hump, it's several," says Sunset, "Flash was the first person to actually make me feel at home in this world, and I just used him to propel my social standing. I'm not sure why even wants to be friends."

"But that was the old Sunset," says Applejack, "Flash doesn't want to be friends with her, he wants to start over with you. He was the one who asked you first if you wanted to start again as friends. Is that so hard to believe?"

Suddenly, Pinkie and Rainbow turn back around, "alright, it's been arranged," exclaims Pinkie.

"What has," asks Sunset.

"You and Flash are set to meet each other tomorrow at 1:00 at Sugar Cube Corner," Rainbow declares, holding up her phone.

"You what," Sunset rips the phone out of Rainbow Dash's hands and looks at the messages screen, concern wraps her face. Sure enough, Rainbow and Pinkie told Flash that Sunset wants to talk to him about something and that they should meet up at Sugar Cube Corner tomorrow at one. "Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, are you two insane!? How do you even have his number?"

"Why would you arrange something like behind Sunset's back," Fluttershy asks.

"Well technically we didn't do it behind her back," Pinkie explains, "we were in front of her the whole time, we just had our backs turned."

"You know what she means Pinkie," scolds Twilight, "you can't just arrange something like without your friend's consent!"

"Look, the only way that those two will finally make up is if they meet with each other, face to face, and talk things out," Rainbow Dash explains, she turns attention to Sunset, "otherwise you're going to have more run-ins like you the one you had today. Also, Flash and Soarin hang out a lot, I have his number just in case Soarin is running late for practice and isn't answering his phone."

"You can thank us later," Pinkie Pie says with a massive smile.

Sunset feels her blood begin to boil, "if you two weren't my friends-."

"Hold your horses girl," Applejack says, putting her hands on both of Sunset's shoulders, trying to calm her down.

"As much as I disagree with their methods," says Twilight, pushing her glass up, "they do have a point. You can't keep avoiding this forever, you'll have to face it in order to move on."

"I agree with what Twilight says," says Rarity, "better to get it done now and let life proceed normally, relatively speaking. Besides, what's the worst that can happen tomorrow?"

"You'd be surprised how creative my imagination can get," says Sunset, "so you all agree I need to do this?" The girls all nod, "even you Fluttershy?" Sunset looks Fluttershy who is petting her new braid, trying to think of something to say.

"Well," she says meekly, "you and Twilight do owe me a vanilla chai latte, think of that as an excuse to go?"

Sunset thinks it over and lets out a heavy sigh, "fine, I'll do it, I'll see Flash tomorrow and let him know I want to start over." She hands the phone back to Rainbow Dash.

Pinkie Pie cheers, "HOORAY, let's all go to Donut Joe's to celebrate."

"I can't," says Sunset, "I have to get home and get started on this paper for Mr. Turner."

"Well then will see you tomorrow at Sugar Cube," says Twilight.

With that, Sunset bids her friends farewell and makes her way to the student parking lot. She thinks about the meeting tomorrow as she walks. Perhaps her friends are right, she and Flash still do need to reconcile their past. It isn't going to be easy, somehow facing musical sirens or magically corrupted humans seems far easier than what this is going to be. Well maybe it won't be so bad, maybe things will go off without a hitch, right? Right? "Tomorrow's going to worse than hell."


	2. Ch 2 Would You Like to Try Again?

Sunset arrives outside of Sugar Cube Corner. Before heading inside, she pulls out her phone from her pocket to check the time. 12:47 PM. Sunset puts her phone away and turns to face the door. She hesitates going inside. On any normal day she wouldn't give it a second thought, but today isn't a normal day. Her stomach churns with anxiety and her mind runs at a million miles an hour, thinking of worst case scenarios. _What if I accidentally insult him? What if he's just leading me on in order to make me look foolish? What if a UFO crashes right on top of us?_ Each scenario becomes more imaginative than the last. Sunset feels her heart picking up, her breathing hastening, and her eyelids opening wide. _I don't think I can do this. I can't do this, I need to-I need-._

"Sunset," a voice calling out from behind brings her back into reality. Sunset turns around and sees Applejack and Twilight running towards her from the other side of the street. "Sunset, oh my goodness," Twilight says with a tone of concern, "Are you ok? What's going on?"

"I-I just-I," Sunset struggles to get a sentence out, she breaths quick breathes between each word.

"Hey, hey, Sunset. Look at me, look at me," Applejack says as she gently grips Sunset's arms, "breath, breath." The farmer demonstrates a deep breathing method with her hand.

Sunset takes in and lets out several deep breaths. She begins to feel a good part of her anxiety slip away. "Thanks Applejack," says Sunset as she takes in one more deep breath, "I have no idea what came over me there."

"Do you usually get panic attacks?" Twilight asks.

"No, I've never really had one before," says Sunset, shaking her head "that was a first for me."

"I guess you're more worried about talking to Flash than we thought," says Applejack.

"I guess I am," Sunset says as she rubs her left arm, "I knew this day was going to be hell."

"Well you know, Dante wouldn't have gotten through hell if he didn't have Virgil," Twilight says as she walks up to Sunset's right, wrapping her arm around her shoulders. "You've got your friends by your side to help get you through this."

"She's right," Applejack says as she walks up to Sunset's left, "I'm not sure about that first part, but we're not going to let you go through this alone."

"Pluuus," Twilight reaches into her purse and pulls out a five-inch-thick stack of index cards, "I made you some ice-breakers and talking points, just in case you can't think of anything to say." Twilight smiles and gives a small squee as she hands the cards to Sunset.

Sunset looks at the cards. "Gee, I hope I have enough," she says dryly.

"Not to worry, I brought three more stacks just in case," says Twilight, oblivious to the sarcasm.

The three girls turn around and face the door. _Well, abandon all hope ye who enter here,_ Sunset thinks. "Ok," she sighs, "let's do it." The three girls walk inside the shop and head over to their usual seats, where Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie are already sitting. The three girls take their seats on the couch; Sunset places the cards on the coffee table as Mrs. Cake comes over to them.

"Hello girls, might I take your order," she says in a cheery voice.

"I'll take a small strawberry and banana smoothie," says Twilight.

"I'll have a medium coffee, two cream one sugar, and an apple fritter," says Applejack.

"I'll just have a small black coffee," says Sunset. Mrs. Cake jots down the orders, tells them it'll be out in a few minutes, and walks off.

"So Sunset," says Rarity, "how are you feeling about today?"

"Like I could throw up," Sunset groans.

"Feeling nervous?" Fluttershy asks, prompting Sunset to nod.

"It'll be fine," says Rainbow Dash, "if there's one thing I've learned from playing sports the past three years, is that everything is far more worse in your head than it is in reality." Rainbow then looks down and sees the stack of notecards on the table. "So, uh, what's with the cue cards?"

"They're ice breakers," Sunset explains, "Twilight gave them to me just in case I can't think of anything when I'm talking to Flash."

Rainbow Dash leans forwards and picks up the top card and reads it out loud. "'What's your favorite kind of pasta?'" Rainbow says quizzically, "Seriously Twilight?"

"Hey that's a very important question," Pinkie interjects, "you don't want to be friends with someone who likes Rigatoni."

"Why is that Pinkie," Applejack asks, her curiosity piqued.

"Trust me, AJ," Pinkie's tone switches from cheerful to deadpan, "you don't want to know."

As they continue their chatter, Mrs. Cake comes over with Twilight's, Applejack's, and Sunset's orders. She places the drinks and the fritter on the tables and tells the girls to enjoy before heading over to the next table. Just as Sunset reaches for her coffee, she hears the front door bell chime. She looks up and sees Flash Sentry walking into shop with his hands in his jacket pockets, looking around the shop. She begins to feel her stomach churn again.

Rainbow Dash turns around to see Flash. "Well, look who's early," Rainbow says, "Hey Flash, we're over here!" Rainbow waves Flash over. He sees the rainbow-haired girl and begins walking over.

Sunset slides down in her seat a little, hoping she'll become invisible. Her worries subside when she feels Applejack's hand on her shoulder. She looks up and sees Applejack giving her a comforting smile that says "everything is going to be okay." Sunset sits back up and slowly takes a few deep breaths. Rainbow walks off and pulls over an empty chair and places it in between her and Rarity, so that he'll have a direct line of sight of Sunset. Flash sits down in the empty seat.

"How's your day been going Flash," Applejack asks, starting things off.

"It's been a pretty slow day so far," Flash responds, "you know, when I read that Sunset wanted to meet with me, I didn't realize it meant all of you girls. I didn't do anything wrong, did I?"

"Don't worry Flash, you're in the clear," says Rainbow, "for now."

"Excuse me?" Flash asks with concern.

"Relax dear, she's just teasing you," says Rarity, placing her hand gently on Flash's shoulder.

"We're just here to support Sunset," Fluttershy explains, "and to make sure that she's comfortable."

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Flash asks with growing concern.

_Oh no, this is just making things worse_, Sunset thinks, _ugh, I don't want to but...if this is going to get done, then I need to be with him one-on-one, not one-on-seven._ Sunset clears her throat. "Hey Flash, why don't we take this conversation to one of the outside tables. Just you and me..."

All six girls look at Sunset with a mix of confusion and surprise. Flash, also looking confused, slowly nods and says, "um… yeah, sure, that works."

"You go wait by the door," Sunset suggests, "I'll be over there in a bit." Flash nods, gets up from his seat, and walks over to the door.

The girls lean in towards Sunset. Twilight is the first to ask, "are you sure that's a good idea? What if you… you know?"

"Are you sure you don't need us by your side?" Fluttershy asks.

"Listen girls," Sunset explains, "I appreciate your support but if I'm going to do this then it needs to be between just me and Flash. He's the last person I need to make amends with; the last leg of my journey from what I used to be. I don't need you right by my side but I do you need backstage should anything bad happen. If things go south, or I start to panic again, then I trust you girls to handle it. You've never let me down before."

The girls look at each other for a minute until Rarity stretches out her hand and lays it on Sunset's hand. "We understand Sunset," Rarity says. "this is your final battle against the old you, now go and crush it."The other girls nod in agreement.

"We'll be right here if you need us," Rainbow says with assurance.

"Don't you worry about thing Sunset," Pinkie says as she reaches into her hair and pulls out a vanilla and a chocolate cupcake, both with white buttercream frosting, "I've got emergency cupcakes on standby!"

Sunset chuckles, "thanks girls, you're the best friends I could ever ask for." She looks over at Flash, breaths in and breaths out, "let's do this." Sunset stands up with confidence and walks over to Flash.

"You've got this, girl!" Applejack cheers.

"Oh, don't forget the notecards," says Twilight as she picks the cards off the table and holds them up to Sunset, who stops and looks at Twilight.

"I think I'll be ok without them," says Sunset, "but thanks anyway."

Twilight's jaw drops and her eyes widen in shock as she begins to mumble nonsense until she finally sputters, "a whole night's work...wasted!" Her top half from the waist flops forward with the cards landing on the table, somehow remaining neatly stacked.

Fluttershy leans across, picks up one of the cards and begins to read it aloud, "if you were stuck on a deserted island with only one book to read, what would it be and why?"

"Ooooh," Pinkie exclaims, "that sounds like a fun one."

"Well it's obvious, ain't it?" Applejack says, "A survival guide."

* * *

Sunset walks over to Flash, who has been waiting patiently by the door for her. "You good?" Flash asks. Sunset nods and moves her hand towards the door handle. Flash steps in front of her and opens the door for her, "after you," he says.

Sunset chuckles, "still the gentleman I see." Flash responds with an abashed shrug. The two of them step outside and walk over to a table directly to their left. They take their seats across from each other, sitback in their chairs, and stay in awkward silence for a good minute. Flash is the one to break it.. "So um...how's it going?" he asks.

"It's going...good, it's going good," Sunset responds, _oh Faust please don't turn out like it did yesterday. No I won't let it happen_.

Sunset and Flash both close their eyes, take a deep breath, and, at the same time, they say, "look, I think we need to talk about us." The two of them are both taken aback by what just happened, "uh, you go first," they say together again. They both give off a nervous chuckle as their cheeks begin to blush.

Sunset clears her throat and begins, "I guess I'll go first. Flash, back up at Camp Everfree, those things you said to me, did you mean it?"

Flash raises an eyebrow, "we talked to each other a couple of times up there," he says, "you might need to clarify."

"You know what I'm talking about," says Sunset with some irritation, "you told me about how much I've changed and how you liked this new side of me, did you mean it?"

Flash looks down for a moment, raising his hand to his chin, trying to recall that conversation. "Yeah, I meant every word," he answers nodding, "you are a completely different person from when we used to date. It's actually kind of refreshing to see you be nice again."

"Did you also mean what you said before I ran off," Sunset asks, then adds, "which I do apologize for by the way."

"Hey, if you hadn't I'm sure we'd all still be stuck in Camp Everfree," Flash responds, "and yes, I really do want to start over as friends, that is if you're willing?"

"You're being 100 percent serious, no jokes?" Sunset asks in disbelief, "even after how I treated you when we dated?"

Flash leans forward and puts his hand on her hand, "Sunset, that was the old you," he tells her, "I don't want to be friends with her, I want to be friends with you, is that so hard to believe?" Sunset's eyes widen and she feels her heart flutter as she hears the words of her friends repeated.

Sunset's eyes look down and dart across the floor, trying to think of something to respond with. She then looks up at Flash, nods and says, "Okay, I would like to try again."

The front door of the shop suddenly opens and Mrs. Cake walks out with a large to-go cup of coffee. She walks over to their table and notices the two having a moment. "Excuse me," she says, Flash leans back into his normal seating position and looks up at the waitress, "sorry to interrupt this intimate moment but here's your large black coffee sir." She places the drink in front of Flash. He and Sunset both look at each other blushing at the comment Mrs. Cake made.

Not wanting to revert back to their awkward state, Sunset breaks the silence. "You take your coffee black as well," Sunset says, "Funny, I guess I never noticed."

Flash chuckles. "Of course," he says with a grin, "it's the only way to properly drink coffee."

Sunset slams her hands on the table and spreads both of them in Flash's direction. "Thank you!" she says in a louder voice, "Finally someone who understands! Do you have any idea how long I've been trying to convince my friends of the superiority of black coffee?"

"I'm going to bet just as long as I have with my friends," Flash says while laughing, "I mean it's healthier, it tastes better, and the energy comes from the caffeine and not the sugar."

"I can think of one friend who would definitely not like to hear that," she says, "although I think I'd be terrified to see her on caffeine instead of sugar." The two of them begin to laugh over this small connection. Any awkwardness that was originally between them disappeared over a simple similarity. "So why do you need so much?" she asks, "I can only drink the small, otherwise I get the jitters."

"I've got a paper for Mr. Turner," Flash explains, his voice conveying some stress, "and coffee really helps me concentrate."

"Wait, you're taking AP World too?" asks Sunset

.

"Yeah, I am," says Flash with a nod, "I didn't know you're taking that class."

"Huh, how did it take us this far into the semester to realize we're in the same class together?" says Sunset.

"Yeesh," Flash says, exhaling through his teeth, "I knew things between us were bad, but I didn't think it took us literally running into each other in order to figure it out."

"Well we're starting over," Sunset answers, "a lot should hopefully change from this point." An idea then pops into her head. "Hey, since we're in the same class, do you wanna meet up tomorrow, around 1:30 at the Pour Jons library and work on this paper together?"

Flash places his hand on his chin and thinks about that idea. He slowly begins to nod and says, "yeah, I like that idea."

"Oh I'm so glad," Sunset exclaims with relief, "because I really need some help on this paper."

"Of course, it's a date then," Flash's eyes suddenly open wide as the realization of what he just said sinks in, "Uh, what I mean is-what I meant to say is...um...it's not a date. It's a purely platonic meeting between two friends with the purpose of working on a mutual class assignment...yeah."

Sunset lets out a laugh, "Don't worry Flash, I know what you meant."

Flash nervously chuckles as he takes a look at his watch on his left wrist. "Hey, um, I've gotta go," he says, "I need to pick up my little sister from soccer practice." He grabs his coffee and gets up from his seat. Sunset gets up from her seat and walks by Flash's side to the door.

"So I guess I'll see you tomorrow then," Sunset says, her arms folding around her torso and her feet point towards Flash's direction.

"Yeah, I'll see you later...alligator," Flash says with a smirk and a playful wink.

Sunset closes her eyes and shakes her head with a grin. "I am _not_ responding with the crocodile one," she says.

Flash chuckles, "Alright, then I'll just say 'see you tomorrow'." With that, Flash turns around and begins walking up the street towards his car.

Sunset waves to him then turns to face the door. Before she walks through, she turns back to see Flash. "Hey Flash," she shouts, he stops and turns back to face Sunset, "you don't drink decaf, do you?"

"Nope, only caffeinated," he shouts back, "decaf is just water that's lying about being coffee."

"Right answer," she shouts with a big smile across her face. The two wave goodbye. Flash turns back around to walk towards his car and Sunset faces the door and walks back into the shop. She enters the shop and walks back over to her group of friends, who are all looking at Pinkie Pie as she rubs her hands against her temples.

"Come on Pinkie," Rainbow Dash says with a groan, "you've been thinking of an answer for the past ten minutes, just pick one already!"

"I can't," Pinkie shouts, "do you have any idea how hard it is for me to pick my favorite kind of cupcake!?"

"Why don't we just move on to another question?" Rarity suggests.

"NO!" Pinkie snaps, "I will answer this question even if it's the last thing I do!"

"Uh, girls," Twilights says, pointing her finger at Sunset. The girls break their focus on Pinkie and turn their attention to Sunset.

"Oh hey Sunset," says Applejack, "did everything go okay?"

Sunset shimmies between her friends and sits back down her original seat. She lets in a deep breath and then lets it out. She looks at her friends and smiles. "It went really well," she says.


	3. Ch 3 A Poor Choice of Words

Flash Sentry stands in front of his bedroom mirror, examining his appearance. He leans in and bares his teeth, checking for anything stuck or if he needs to brush again. He closes his mouth and flares his nostrils, checking for runaway hairs. Finding one, Flash grabs the tweezers on his dresser, grabs the loose hair, and pulls it out hard and fast. His face clenches up as a single tear wells up in his eye. _Why does it have to hurt THAT much?_ he thinks. Tossing the loose hair away in a small plastic trash bin, he puts the tweezers down on top of the dresser. To finish off his routine, Flash takes his comb and begins to groom his hair.

As he combs, a figure comes into the mirrors view. Said figure is a boy, roughly the same age as Flash. He has medium length navy blue hair that's brushed back. He wears a black t-shirt underneath a blue, unbuttoned shirt with the collar popped. He watches Flash as he grooms himself. "So, just a study session huh?" he asks with a look of amusement.

Flash rolls his eyes. "Yes Soarin, we are just meeting up together to work on this paper for Mr. Turner," Flash explains, "nothing more and nothing less; it's purely platonic."

Soarin chuckles and shakes his head, "If it was 'purely platonic' then I don't think you need to clean yourself up like you're about to see the Queen of England."

"It's common courtesy to clean oneself up before they go out with someone," Flash argues.

"Your parents raised you up to be too much of a gentleman," says Soarin.

"Well okay, Mister Author of the Chivalric Code," Flash says as he puts down the comb and turns to face his friend. "What do you suggest?"

Soarin looks around the room and walks over to Flash's closet. He opens the double doors and pulls out Flash's old windbreaker with a red and white stripe wrapping around the chest, and a white t-shirt with a blue shield with a lightning bolt in the center. He tosses the two items across the room towards Flash, who catches them both. "Try going with something a bit more familiar and more 'you'," Soarin suggests.

Flash looks at the shirt and jacket. "What do you mean?" he asks.

"The two of you used to date, right?" Soarin asks. Flash nods in response. "Well even if you're 'starting over',you don't want to go completely new. You want to have a good mix of the old and new, and it all starts with what she sees. With your old outfit and the new hair, she'll see that things will be different but not completely foreign."

"Since when did you become a social expert?" Flash jokingly asks.

"Last night," Soarin replies.

Flash rolls his eyes as he lays the clothes on the bed and begins to take off his sweater and white shirt. "While I appreciate, and question, your advice Soarin," Flash says as he dresses, "this is just a study session. It's not like I'm about to go on a date with Sunset."

Suddenly there's a knock on the bedroom door followed by a young, scratchy female voice shouting through. "Hey Flash, are you almost ready for your big date?" the voice asks with a bit of a teasing tone.

"It's not a date, sis," Flash shouts back with a groan.

"Can we come in and see you?" a different voice shouts with a squeak in her voice.

"We can't have you leavin' all sloppy like a pig," a third voice shouts with a country accent.

"Hold on," Flash shouts back, he puts on his jacket and straightens it while looking in the mirror. "Okay, now you girls can come in."

The door opens and Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom rush in. The three of them sit on Flash's bed and observe him as he straightens his jacket a second time. "Come on Flash," Scootaloo begs, "let's get a good look of you."

Flash rolls his eyes and chuckles a little. He turns to face the girls and half-heartedly holds out his arms in a presenting manner. The three girls examine him from their seats. They look up and down his outfit, fingers pressed against mouths and eyebrows cocked. They keep at this for a few minutes. Flash and Soarin look at each other, each wondering how much longer they're going to take.

Finally, Apple Bloom declares, "I like it!"

"Me too," Scootaloo concurs, "your old outfit looks good with your new hairstyle."

"Ooooh this is so exciting," Sweetie Belle exclaims, placing her hands on her cheeks, "I can't believe another one of our ships is getting ready to sail!"

"Okay, first off," Flash holds up his index finger, "this is just a study session; we are not dating."

"Yet," Scootaloo mutters to her friends, causing them to giggle.

"Second, just because I'm part of one of your little fantasy ships doesn't mean it's going to happen," says Flash.

Scootaloo, insulted by Flash's comment, stands up and walks in front of her brother. She stands on her toes, trying to get to his eye level, even though he's a foot taller than her. "'Little fantasy ships!?' I'll have you know that we take our shipping very seriously. So much that our ships have a 90 percent success rate!"

"What's the other ten percent?" Soarin asks.

Applebloom groans. "All our ships between the Main Seven."

"It was a sad day when we found out that none of them swing that way," Sweetie Belle says wistfully.

"Not sure how I feel about that," Soarin' says wryly.

Flash places his hands on Scootaloo's shoulders and gently pushes her back on her feet. He takes in a deep breath, "Look Scoots, I know you're excited about this, but don't set your expectations so high. Sunset and I are starting over as friends, nothing more. Besides, I doubt she ever liked me in that way."

Soarin begins to laugh as he walks up and places his hand on Flash's shoulder. "Oh poor little Flash," he says, "Please tell me you aren't so oblivious to the obvious?"

"What are you talking about?" Flash asks.

"Rainbow Dash told me everything about what Sunset said about yesterday," Soarin explains.

"So did Applejack," Apple Bloom interjects.

"And Rarity," Sweetie Belle adds.

"According to Rainbow Dash," says Soarin, "Sunset giggled like a school girl when she talked about your little mistake, calling the study session a 'date.'"

"AHA," exclaims Scootaloo, "so it is a date!"

"No it's not, shut up!" Flash snaps back.

"Applejack says that her face blushed brighter than a newly ripe apple when she talked about when you meant what you said at Camp Everfree," says Apple Bloom as she jumps off the bed and joins the growing crowd around Flash.

"And when she talked about you reaching across, laying your hand on hers, and confessed how much you want to be friends with the new her," Sweetie Bell says, her voice softer and smoother than usual, mimicking the way Rarity said it. "she, according to Rarity, 'fell into a euphoric state faster than the blink of an eye.'"

Apple Bloom giggles a little at Sweetie Bell's Rarity impression.

"Come on Flash, the evidence is abundantly clear," says Scootaloo, "Sunset Shimmer likes you."

* * *

"I do not like him," Sunset Shimmer exclaims while she stands t-posed on one of Rarity's stands, getting her measurements taken. "And why am I even up here? Prom isn't for another two months."

Rarity scoffs. "Bold of you to assume I would wait this long to do our prom dresses," she says, "I've had those done months ago. This is for this afternoon."

"This afternoon? Rarity," Sunset groans as she gets off the platform, "we're just going to work on our papers for Mr. Turner together. This isn't a date."

"Oh for goodness sake, Sunset," says Rarity, "everything about this screams 'this is a date.' Just think about the setting, a quiet library on the second floor of a coffee shop…"

"It's a good place to keep focus," Sunset counters.

"Candlelight providing a warm glow around the room," Rarity's tone grows increasingly more romantic.

"The… the warm lighting is… ideal for studying?" Sunset knew that point was bull, "Besides, they aren't really candles."

"Candle shaped lights," Rarity counters, "Cool jazz playing over the speakers..." Rarity leans in towards Sunset, shaking her shoulders for effect.

"Um…" Sunset can feel her argument begin to falter. She fidgets in growing discomfort as Rarity emphasizes the romance behind each point.

"And to top it all off." Rarity swings around and throws her arm over Sunset's shoulders. "it will just be you and him, all...alone...together." On her last three words, Rarity walks the fingers of her free hand up Sunset's shoulders, tapping her on the nose at the end.

"Because none of our other friends are in the class with us!" Sunset says with rising panic as her final counter argument, quickly pulling away from Rarity. "Look Rarity, I really just want this to be friendly get together with Flash. I don't see me and him ever getting back together. I don't _like_ like him."

Rarity approaches Sunset and takes hold of her hands. "Sunset dear," she starts calmly, "I love you, but you are _terrible_ at bluffing. The way you talked about Flash yesterday, the euphoria you radiated, it was like he was the only person in the world you truly cared for. I know you two have a rough past, but that does not mean you cannot still love each you really going to deny these feelings inside your heart?"

Sunset thinks about Rarity's words for a second. Her interaction with Flash yesterday did have several moments of intimacy. Flash holding the door, him holding her hand, his blunder of calling their study session a date, and their small moments of genuine connection. Not to mention how she acted when recanted their interaction to her friends afterwards. Her schoolgirl giggling, the hard blushing, and her euphoric state of mind. Is it possible that there was still some love between them?

No, there couldn't be, how can there be after how their previous relationship ended?

Sunset slowly lets go of Rarity's hands. "I'm sorry Rarity, but I can't deny feelings that I've never had." Sunsets leans over and looks at the clock on the wall of Rarity's boutique. The clock face reads 1:09 PM. "Look, I have to go meet up with Flash. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Very well dear," Rarity sighs, "you have a good productive time studying. I'll see you tomorrow."

The two girls hug each other goodbye. Sunset grabs her backpack off one of the counters and walks out the door.

* * *

Sunset walks up a rickety staircase with a small cup of black drip coffee in her right hand. When she reaches the top, she looks around the room and sees Flash sitting at one of the tables in front of his computer, surrounded by several books. Flash has his head in his hands with his elbows on the table. Sunset walks over to him and sets her backpack down on the table, causing a thud as it lands. Flash lifts up his head in response, he turns his attention to Sunset. "Hard at work I see," Sunset jokingly says.

Flash chuckles a little. "This paper is a lot harder than what I thought it was going to be," he admits.

"How many pages do you have written?" Sunset asks as she pulls out her computer and materials.

"Two," he responds.

"And how many are we supposed to write," she asks.

"Eight," he says with contempt, "eight stinking pages about the importance of the Sun-Sen-Sengo."

"The Sengoku Jidai," she says, helping him finish, "Or 'Warring States Period'. I'm surprised about your attitude towards this paper. I remember you being an avid Samurai Jack fan when we were younger." She sits down in a seat across from Flash and opens up her computer.

"I like the samurai and Japanese history. It's just… my friend and my sister and her friends were driving me up the wall this morning," Flash says, resting his head on his hand. He reaches over for his coffee without looking and takes a big gulp.

"I empathize; Rarity was being extremely persistent about her view of this study session." Sunset rubs her finger tips against her forehead. "Hey, um, can I ask you something?"

Flash looks up from his computer. "What's up?"

"Are we… is this… a date?" Sunset asks, struggling to bring the words forward.

Flash closes his eyes and lets out a deep breath. _Well might as well clear the air here and now._ "No, we're not on a date, this is just a, um…"

"A purely platonic meeting between two friends with the purpose of working on a mutual class assignment?" Sunset suggests with a small giggle.

Flash smiles, hearing his own words repeated back to him. "Yeah, that." The two went back to writing their paper, occasionally glancing at each other while delivering sheepish smiles. It isn't brough to a halt until Flash mutters, "I mean, if we wanted to we could."

Sunset's fingers stop typing. She looks up at Flash. "What did you say?" she asks.

Flash also stops typing; his face begins to turn red. "Ah crap, I said that out loud, didn't I?" Flash looks up at Sunset, who looks a little shocked. Flash lets out a sigh. "I guess there's no point in lying or avoiding it. I said if we wanted to we could."

"What? You mean date?" _Is he really suggesting that?_ Sunset feels her heart rate begin to pick up, and her palms begin to sweat.

Flash gives a shrug and quick look to the side. "I mean, why not? It's not such a terrible idea, is it?" He looks at Sunset with a soft grin.

Sunset's mind races out of control. _Why in the world would he even suggest such an idea? I thought he just wanted to start over as friends? I can't date him, not after what I've done to him, I'd hurt him worse! Think, Sunset, think! You need to...push him away somehow._ Sunset looks directly at Flash, and her eyebrows angle down. "Is that why you wanted to start over? So you can win me back?"

Flash's face changes to a shocked state. _Oh crap, I pushed it too far._ "N-no, no, that's not w-w-what I meant, I-I-I was just s-saying that…" Before he could finish, Sunset shoots up from her chair, stuffs all her belongings in her bag, and swings the bag over her shoulder.

"I can't believe you," she says, perhaps a bit louder than she should, "I thought we could be friends and not have to deal with this… this… middle school nonsense! You know what, you can just finish this paper on your own. I'm going home!" Sunset turns around and winces a little at the expression she saw on his face. Telling herself it was for the best, she storms towards the stairs.

"Sunset, wait," Flash tries to stop her but fails. He considers going after her but figures it would be best to not confront her when she's this angry. Flash sits back down and puts his head in his hands and groans. "Flash, what have you done?"

Sunset storms out of the coffee shop with all the indignation she can muster and marches her way back to her motorcycle. It isn't until she reaches her bike that self-reflection hits her. Princess Twilight trusted her to spread the magic of friendship in the world, and she pushed away a potential friend. "Sunset, what have you done?" she moans, pulling her helmet down to cover her eyes.


	4. Ch 4 Clearing the Air

Sunset walks into her AP World History class, wearing a dark grey hoodie and jeans. She is a dreadful sight to behold. Dark circles and bags occupy the area underneath her eyes, and her hair is statically held to the side, as though a side wind is always blowing against her. She keeps her appearance hidden underneath her hood.

"Hoods off when indoors Miss Shimmer," Mr. Time Turner says, in his precise English accent, as he writes on the whiteboard. Mr. Turner is a thirty year old, fair skin man. His hair is slightly wild and folded to the right on top, the sides and back are short but he has two slightly narrow sideburns that reach just above the back corners of his jaw bone. He wears blue sports jacket and dress pants along with a red tie, white dress shirt, and an hourglass pin on his left lapel.

Sunset turns to face her teacher. "Mr. Turner," she says, the teacher turns around. Sunset, not saying a word, pulls her hood off to reveal her mangled appearance.

Mr. Turner muffles a gasp that would be entirely inappropriate for a teacher, much less a gentleman."Uhhh, you can keep your hood up for today, Miss Shimmer."

Sunset pulls her hoodie back on. She thanks the teacher and walks to her seat in the back-right corner of the room. The room is empty, class doesn't begin for another fifteen minutes. Good for her, because she could use some silence. Sunset drops her bag onto the floor, slides into her chair, folds her arms on the desk, and places her head in the center of the shape her arms form. She hopes to get a few more winks of sleep in before class begins.

The previous night was rough. Not only did she stay up until 2 AM working on the paper, which never got finished, but sleeping was an impossible task. He mind plagued her by repeating the dramatic scene from yesterday at Pour Jons. All she wanted to do was to stay friends with Flash without falling into another intimate relationship with him; avoid hurting him again, but not push him away forever. If only she had handled that like a mature, reasonable person, perhaps things could've turned out better. Perhaps they could still remain friends, instead of reverting back to strangers. She wouldn't blame him if he decided to not speak to her again... Flash deserves someone better than her.

A few minutes of sleep go by when Sunset hears a student next to her taking their seat. The noise is followed by the sound of a paper cup landing on her desk. She looks up and sees a small to-go cup of coffee sitting in front of her. She looks over at the student sitting next to her. Her eyes widen when she sees that it's Flash. He sits there with his body facing towards her. His hair is also a mess; his eyes are dreary and laden with bags and dark circles. He wears his black hoodie and dark blue jeans. Despite his tired appearance, he still manages to greet Sunset with a smile.

"I'm guessing you didn't get much sleep last night," he asks, despite it being plainly obvious.

Sunset takes the cup of coffee and drinks a big gulp. Black, Colombian blend, her favorite. It's still hot but not scalding. After she swallows and feels the warm liquid begin to flow through her veins, she answers with a yawn, "Not a wink, you?"

Flash shakes his head, the yawn catching in response. He looks away from Sunset, trying not to make eye contact after what happened yesterday. Sunset does the same. A minute passes by before the two of them turn to each other and together say, "I need to apologize about yesterday." The two are taken aback but then begin to laugh.

"God I hope that gets old fast," Sunset says, stifling her laughter.

Flashes finishes his laughing and clears his throat. "Sunset, I want to apologize about what I said yesterday." He leans forward, weaving his fingers together and resting his arms on his legs, he fixes his gaze on her. "I really shouldn't have pushed the idea of dating. We just started over as friends and I was thinking immaturely. I didn't want to be friends because I thought I could win you back. I really do want to be friends. Do you think you could forgive me?"

"Oh, Flash," Sunset puts down the coffee, turns towards him, leans forward, and cups her hands around his, "Of course I forgive you. But I too need to apologize for my behavior. When you brought up that idea, I got...scared and the only way I could think of to react was to resort to my old, mean ways. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that, I should have talked to you like a mature adult. I was afraid afterwards that I might have pushed you away for good. Can you forgive me?"

Flash grins. "Of course I forgive you. It's going to take a lot more than some snapping to push me away."

Sunset lets out a sigh of relief as she releases Flash's hands, tension visibly leaving her body. "Thank you, that really puts my mind at ease." She tilts her head back, closes her eyes, and rubs her temples. "Now I _would_ like a chance to be a mature adult about this. Can we talk about what you said yesterday?"

The first bell rings just as Flash was about to answer. The rest of the students in AP World begin to file into the classroom. "We can talk about it at lunch. By the way, does anyone sit in this seat?"

Sunset shakes her head. "No, that seat is empty, you're good to sit there."

"Good. Oh one more thing." Flashes leans down and reaches into one of the pockets on his bag. He pulls out a small tin box and sets it front of Sunset.

She looks at the tin container and reads the label on top. "Mints." It takes her second for her to realize what Flash was trying to say. She looks at him with a playfully annoyed look and gives him a lewd gesture with her right hand. "Ass," she says.

* * *

Rarity, Applejack, and Sunset walk out of AP Statistics and make their way down the hall toward the cafeteria. Sunset has her hood down, letting her hair out. Earlier in the day, Rarity had worked some of her "magic" on Sunset's hair to bring it back to its natural state. While her eyes still presented a picture of exhaustion, she no longer looks like a complete train wreck.

"So Sunset, you never did tell us how your...time with Flash went yesterday," Rarity states as they walk.

"It, um… it didn't go so well," says Sunset.

"Oh no, what happened?" asks Applejack.

"I'd rather not go into it too much, just that he said something he wasn't supposed to and I overreacted, bit his head off, and left." Sunset rubs the back of her neck as her face turns red.

Applejack and Rarity look at each other and shrug. "Well," Rarity leads, "as far as first dates go, it's not the _worst_ outcome. I mean as long the two of you apologized afterwards."

"First off, it wasn't a date," Sunset had grown tired of making this correction, "second, yes we did apologize to each other before first block. I'm actually going to meet him at lunch to discuss something important."

"Oh?" Rarity leans in towards Sunset. "What kind of 'something' are you two going to discuss?"

Applejack pulls Rarity back. "Knock it off Rare, whatever Sunset and Flash have to discuss should only be between the two of them. Sunset will tell us when she _wants_ to tell us."

Rarity rolls her eyes and lets out a sigh. "Very well, I will respect Sunset's wishes."

Sunset lets out a chuckle. "Thanks girls, and don't worry, I'll tell you and the others how it went after school."

The three girls make there way inside the cafeteria and get their trays of food. Once they have what they desire, they walk around the area looking for a place to sit. Rarity and Applejack see their four other friends and Sunset sees Flash, waving her over. Sunset tells her friends she will see them later and makes her way over to Flash.

As the remaining two walk over to their friends, Rarity's face dons a look of curiosity with a tinge of concern. "What do you think they're going to talk about?" she asks Applejack. "You don't think they're going to end things now, are they? I hope Flash didn't say anything that terribly offended Sunset. Oh, and it was all going so well too."

"Calm down Rare," Applejack says reassuringly, "You heard what Sunset said, he already apologized for what he said yesterday. I may not know Flash well but I do know he's quick to mend any friendship on the verge of breaking. And Sunset isn't one to so quickly push away a friend just because some words got under her skin. Try not to worry about it, let's just go eat lunch."

* * *

Sunset places her tray of food on the table and takes a seat across from Flash. "Hey Sunset, how was Statistics?" Flash says, elevating his voice above the noise of the cafeteria. Sunset places her elbow on the table and pinches the bridge of her nose as she lets a sigh of frustration. "Oof, that bad huh?"

She places her hand back on the table. "I don't understand a single thing in that class," she complains, "I took it so I wouldn't have to take College Algebra or Calculus. Yet somehow, Princess Celestia's course of transformation and transmutation seems easier than trying to understand univariate and bivariate transformations."

Flash picks up a few fries off his tray and dips them in a little ketchup container. "I can probably help you with that," he says as he munches on his fries.

Sunset gives him a quizzical look. "You? But you hate math."

Flash shrugs and gives a quick side look. "Well yeah, but I love statistics." Sunset raises her eyebrow, her doubt increasing rapidly. "Oh come on, have you never been on one of those weird statistics sites? For instance, did you know you're more likely to die from being poisoned than from being struck by lighting? Or if the mortality rate today was still the same as it was in 1900, less than half of the people in the world would still be alive? Being on those sites made me want to learn more about Statistics. So I took AP Stat last semester and got an A."

"So are you saying you want to tutor me?" Sunsets asks, still skeptical. She didn't know that Flash is so fond of Statistics. In the past, it was always Sunset who had to help Flash with his math homework. This time, the roles are reversed.

Flash smiles and nods. "Yeah, consider it me finally cashing in all time you helped me in… _geometry_," Flash says with great disdain as his body shivers.

Sunset chuckles a little. She finds it hard to believe that the boy she helped, or rather dragged, through Geometry is now offering to help her with Statistics. She smiles and holds out her hand. "Alright Mister Alan Turing, you've got yourself a deal."

Flash reaches out and accepts her handshake. "It's always a good day when I get equated with Benedict Cumberbatch," he quips. Sunset laughs in response. As they retract their hands, Flash's face gets more serious and he changes topics to the reason they are meeting here. "So, about yesterday?"

Sunset's mood slowly changes from amusement to dread. She knows there's no point in trying to dodge this topic; better to just clear the air now so they can move forward. She looks away nervously. "Yesterday, right," she pauses and scratches her head, trying to think of what to say, "You weren't _wrong_ about what you said. Dating isn't the _worst_ idea…" She trails off, searching for the right thing to say.

"But?" Flash injects.

"But given how our last relationship turned out, I'm not sure I'm ready to visit that trail again just yet." She rubs her hands as she tries to put her thoughts into words.

Flash processes her words through his head and purses his lips in thought. He understands her hesitations; the exact same thought had occurred to him. The pain of their last relationship still lingers a bit inside him. It may have been a year and a half since their breakup, but finding out she was using him as a means to an end is not something one gets over easily. He is mostly over it, but that niggling little sore spot in his heart is still there. The only way he can think of to finally get rid of it, is to mend his relationship with Sunset. There is still the physical attraction, of course, but also a romantic longing that had never gone away completely. But Flash is well aware that the person he is hung up on, if she ever existed, is not the person in front of him right now, and acting based on his idea of what was would be a discredit to who Sunset is. And whoever that is, he can see she is someone worth being friends with.

Flash looks at Sunset and slowly nods. "I agree. I'm not sure what I was thinking back there, probably thinking with the wrong head." He and Sunset chuckle. "In all seriousness, I don't think I'm actually ready to try dating again either. But I still do want us to be friends."

"I do too," Sunset says smiling, "and who knows? Maybe we will or maybe we won't, but I think baby steps is the right course of action for now."

"Agreed," says Flash nodding.

"So when do you want to start tutoring me?" Sunset asks, changing the topic as she stabs her salad and takes a bite.

"Well I'm a little busy this week with band and blitzball practice," Flash says as he picks up a few more fries and eats them. He swallows and continues, "but I'm free Friday after school. You can come over to my place and afterwards, if you want, we can do something that isn't math related."

"What do you have in mind?" Sunset asks, just a touch warily. She takes another bite of her salad.

"Well we have a game room with foosball, air hockey, and two TVs, both with PS4s," Flash says casually. Sunset, after hearing that, slightly chokes on her salad and goes into a coughing fit. "Whoa, are you okay?" Flash asks with concern. Before he could get up to help, Sunset dislodges the piece of lettuce from her throat and coughs it across the table, landing on Flash's left cheek. Her face turns beat red when she sees the small piece of romaine on his cheek. Flash slowly picks the piece of lettuce off and holds it for a bit. Eyes wide open, he looks at the lettuce, looks at Sunset, and then begins to laugh. Flash's laughter eases Sunset's embarrassment as she joins in the mirth.

* * *

The rest of the Main Seven look over at Flash's and Sunset's table and watch in amusement as the two converse. "Look at them, they're so cute together," Pinkie Pie says letting out a small sigh of admiration, "they're like two scoops of ice cream."

"Do you think he'll ask her to prom?" Fluttershy wonders.

"Now hold on y'all," says Applejack, bringing the group back to reality, "Sunset and Flash have only just now started over. Let's not get ahead of ourselves and go thinking they're gonna live happily ever after."

"As much of a romantic as I am, I have to agree with Applejack," says Rarity, "These sort of things take time. We don't live in a fairytale world where love happens in an instant."

Applejack looks at her friend with surprise. "Why, thank you Rarity," she says with gratitude.

"Though that does not stop me from planning her wedding dress," Rarity declares.

"...Thank you, Rarity," Applejack says with much annoyance.

"Oh come on AJ, just look at them!" Rainbow points at the Sunset and Flash. "They are clearly head over heels for each other. Sunset is looking at Flash the way Twilight looks at Timber."

Twilight, about to counter Rainbow's point, looks over at Sunset, shrugs, looks at Applejack and says, "Well, she's not wrong."

"Look, all I'm saying is we shouldn't rush things," says Applejack, "I'm not going to deny that there's a mutual attraction between the two, but we should just let things happen. Help her if and when she wants it, but like Granny says, go meddlin' in other folks' affairs and everything ends up in a muddle."

"Ugh, fine, we'll do it your way Applejack." Rainbow then looks over Applejack's shoulder and her eyebrows raise. "If we're going to go hands-off, you maaay want to tell them that." Rainbow points over at something between Applejack and Rarity.

The two look behind them and see Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo huddle together looking over at Flash and Sunset. Their faces light up with amazement, their mouths grow huge smiles, and suddenly they let out a collective shriek.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

The ear-splitting sound is heard throughout the entire cafeteria. Applejack places her face in her hands. "Oh sweet apple pie," she mutters.


	5. Ch 5 Study Session, Take Two

The door for the men's locker room by the outside track flies open as a group of young men dressed in gym clothes and drenched in sweat come marching in. Each and every one of them panting, trying to get every single atom of oxygen. They have just finished running for five straight miles, as part of the weekly Five Mile Friday run in their PE course. They each either take a seat on one of the benches or lean up against the rows of lockers. The last two to enter are Flash and Soarin, who share a similar state of exhaustion. They go over to their lockers, open them,pull out their water bottles, and chug the refreshingly cool liquid.

"I… hate… Fridays," one of the other boys says through his breaths.

"Coach… Spitfire… can go… eat… a dick!" says another.

A pounding noise is suddenly heard from the door, followed by Coach Spitfire shouting. "You boys better be showered, dressed, and out of there before the final bell rings or I'm going to make you run another five miles!"

"Yes ma'am," they all shout back, then mumble curses under their breath. They all then begin to undress and make their way towards the showers.

Flash and Soarin are the first in and the first out. They head to their lockers, towels wrapped around their waists, pull out their normal clothes, and begin to dress. "So Flash, are you ready for this afternoon?" Soarin asks with a tone of anticipation as he dresses.

"What are you talking about?" Flash responds as he puts on his underwear and pants.

"Come on man, your tutoring session with Sunset," Soarin says teasingly while nudging Flash's side with his elbow, "Just the two of you, alone, teaching her… probabilities." That last word he lustfully whispers as he repeatedly lifts his eyebrows.

Flash's face cringes and his spine shivers. "Why do you have to make math sound so… creepy?" Flash asks with great discomfort, "Look, I just want to help her in that class. I'm good with statistics, and she helped me a lot when I took geometry. I'm just paying back a favor." He grabs his shirt and pulls it onto his body.

"Is that really all there is?" Soarin asks with growing suspicion, "Just 'repaying the favor,' there isn't anything else?"

"You're not sounding less creepy," Flash says in annoyance.

But as Flash reaches for his windbreaker, he starts to think over if there is some other that reason comes into mind, he begins to feel he's cheeks grow red. "Well… there _may_ be one more reason," he says sheepishly.

"I knew it!" Soarin exclaims, "And I see those red cheeks, so come on now, spill it!"

Flash feels his cheeks grow more red. "Well… I may… also… like her," Flash murmurs.

"I'm sorry what was that?" Soarin asks, leaning in, "You're gonna have to speak up."

"I… like her," Flash murmurs again, avoiding eye contact with his friend.

"One more time, still can't hear you," Soarin says teasingly, leaning his ear towards Flash.

"I like her okay!" Flash shouts for the entire locker room to hear, prompting a series of "woos" and inappropriate jokes from the other boys. Flash's neck shrinks with embarrassment. He looks at Soarin, who was trying very hard and failing to stifle his laughter, with pure anger. A number of ways to hurt Soarin fly through Flash's imagination.

Soarin gets a hold of himself and calms down the rest of the locker room. "Ok guys, I think Flash has heard enough… for now," he says with a grin; the boys let out several "awws" of disappointment and go back to getting ready to leave. Soarin turns to Flash, seeing his angry look. "Oh calm down man," he says, "It's your fault anyway for shouting out your answer." This reasoning does nothing to curve his anger. "Besides, isn't it better getting it all out there now?"

Flash takes in a few breaths. "Yeah, I suppose," he responds still feeling miffed.

"So then, why do you like her? I thought after how she rejected you the other day, you had decided that was out?" Soarin' asks. "Did she put a spell on you," he adds teasingly

"No, it's not like that," Flash answers, "It's just… I don't know man." He pulls out his bag, closes the locker, and leans his back up against it. "We've spent quite a bit of time together this week and… I just can't stop thinking about her. It's like freshman year all over again. No matter how hard I try, she doesn't escape my mind. It especially doesn't help that her name is 'Sunset,' something I see every single day."

Soarin closes his locker and leans his side up against it, facing Flash. "So you do want to date her?" he asks.

"No… maybe… I don't know man," Flash says with an embarrassed shrug, "I don't even feel ready to get back into that game with her again, and neither does she. You forget how our last relationship ended?"

"Of course not, but you were dating the old Sunset," says Soarin, "and she's _definitely_ not like the present Sunset."

"I know, but a part of me thinks that feeling is just me still being in love with the old Sunset," says Flash, closing his eyes and rubbing his forehead.

"Why would you still be in love with that manipulative demon?" Soarin asks, Flash just shrugs in response, "Have _you_ forgotten how she used you?"

"How can I," Flash says, throwing his hands up as he straightens up and sits on the bench in front of him, "I can vividly recall the day I first realized I was being abused, right down to the smallest detail." He leans forward with arms crossed, looking at the ground with a sullen look as he recalls that day.

Soarin sits on Flash's left side and places his hand on his shoulder. "Look, it's quite clear to me that you have feelings for Sunset, the present and friendly Sunset. I get it that you're not ready to try dating again with her, but one way or another you're gonna have to do _something _or else those feelings will eat you from the inside-out. Like the chestburster from _Alien_." Soarin then puts his hand on his chest and flares his fingers at Flash, replicating the gruesome birth of the xenomorph.

Flash closes his eyes, shakes his head, and chuckles. "What a lovely mental image," he says in a dry sarcastic tone. Flash then pulls his phone from his pocket and looks at the time, 2:57 PM. "Listen," Flash starts as he puts his phone away, "I've gotta head out, I'm supposed to meet her over at my place." Flash stands up and swings his bag over his shoulders.

"Your place, seriously? Ok man," Soarin says standing up as he gives Flash a fist bump, "Try not to have too much fun now." Soarin give Flash a playful wink, causing him to roll his eyes. Flash secures his bag and makes his way out of the locker room.

* * *

The final bell for school rings and all the students in AP European Literature begin to file out of the classroom. But as they leave, Mr. Doodle delivers one final statement. "Students," he shouts, "Don't forget to read the first five chapters of _Candide_ over the weekend. We'll be having a quiz about it on Monday." The students groan as they leave the room, any hopes of not having weekend reading were quickly tossed into the wind.

Twilight, Fluttershy, and Sunset are the last three students to leave. They walk up the hall towards Sunset's locker, chatting about their afternoon plans. "Hey Sunset," Fluttershy says, "Are you ready for this afternoon?"

"Oooh yes," Twilight exclaims with excitement, "you've got your big 'tutoring' session today with Flash!"

"Don't get your hopes up girls," Sunset says trying to curb their enthusiasm, "It's not like we're going to prom or anything. He's just going to help me get started on my stats project and afterwards we're just going to hang out." They stop at Sunset's locker. She begins to fiddle with the lock.

"'Hang out'?" Fluttershy asks with a slight tease in her voice, "It seems we've with reached a new level."

"What are you talking about?" asks Sunset as she opens her locker and searches through for her Statistics notes.

"Well we maaay have been keeping track of your relationship with Flash," Twilight admits with fake guilt, "For instance, the two of you have eaten lunch together a few times."

"You're not having anymore awkward run-ins in the hallway," Fluttershy adds.

"And the two of you have been talking to each other a lot more lately," Twilight concludes, "All signs that this pointing towards a-"

"A growing friendship between two people who happen to be of the opposite sex," Sunset interrupts as she slams the door of her locker in her annoyance, "Girls, I've told you once, I've told you a million times, there is nothing between me and Flash. We are just good friends." Both girls look at each other then look back at Sunset with looks of skepticism. "What?" she asks.

"I don't want to pry Sunset," Fluttershy says, "but are you certain that's all you feel for Flash?"

"Yes Fluttershy, I am certain," Sunset responds confidently

"Really?" Fluttershyasks skeptically, "Because everytime I see you talking with Flash, you look at him as though he put you under some sort of love spell."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Sunset says as she folds her arms and turns away from them. To them it may seem she's turning out of defense or annoyance but it's really to hide the red color beginning to appear on her cheeks. "Also, that's not how love spells work," she adds.

"Think about it Sunset," says Twilight as she draws closer to Sunset. "All the classic non-verbal cues are there. Laughing at every other word he says, gazing at him in admiration, gushing smiles, constantly brushing your hair behind your ear, and - the cutest one of all - swinging back and forth on the heels and balls of your feet. Oooh!" Twilight gushes when she brings up that point.

"I-I-I don't do any of _that_," Sunset argues as she looks down at the floor and vigorously pets some strands of her hair.

Twilight walks over to Sunset and places her hand on her shoulder. "Sunset you don't have to hide your feelings from us," says Twilight, "It's okay if you like Flash, there's no harm in feeling you want to be more than friends with him."

Sunset looks down at the ground, she processes what Twilight said. Does she really have strong feelings for Flash? If she does, are they even genuine emotions, or was it just convenience and familiarity? She's not going to deny that Flash has some admirable qualities: he's handsome, adorkable, he loves music, and he is kind. What girl wouldn't find him endearing? His kindness and friendliness is what won Sunset over in the first place.

However, there is that lingering fear inside her. A fear she has conquered many times but not when it comes to him. The fear that she may end up hurting Flash again.

After a short time, it was relatively easy to get over this fear with everyone else. The biggest pain she ever caused to her friends and the student body was either extortion or tearing apart their friendships. Not that that was good, but it had not been personal. But Flash, he was a different case. She abused and manipulated him, turned him into nothing more than a pawn to raise herself up above all others. Snips and Snails voluntarily worked for Sunset, rather like minions in some fairy tale, but Flash was different. All he had wanted was a girlfriend who loved him. When they broke up, she felt nothing, he felt everything. Sunset fears that if she gets close to him again, the same mistakes will be repeated. She does not want to cause him any more pain.

Sunset looks at Twilight and gently brushes her hand off her shoulder. "I appreciate the comforting words, Twilight," Sunset says in a soft, strained tone, "But… there can't be anything between me and Flash." She quickly glances over to the left at the clock on the wall, 3:12, and adjusts the backpack straps around her shoulders. "Listen, I gotta go," Sunset says walking off, "I'll see you girls tomorrow." Sunset walks down the hall, waving back to her friends.

Fluttershy gazes down the hall with a look of disappointment. "It's a shame," Fluttershy sighs, "I was really hoping there might be something there." She looks over at Twilight, who is also looking down the hall but with a look of studious confusion. "Twilight?" Fluttershy asks, getting the attention of her friend.

Twilight breaks her concentration and looks at Fluttershy. "Hm? Oh, sorry," she says, "I just got caught up on something she said."

"What is it?" Fluttershy asks, raising a curious eyebrow.

"Well, she said 'can't,'" says Twilight.

"'Can't?'" Fluttershy asks.

"Yeah, 'there _can't_ be anything between me and Flash,'" Twilight repeats thoughtfully. "What does she even mean by that?"

* * *

Sunset pulls over to the side of the street in front of Flash's house. The building is a two-story house with grey siding. A long sidewalk reaches from street all the way up to the front patio, where the front door stands in the center. There are two windows on the far ends of the front, and three windows on the second floor that line up with the windows and door below. The front of the house has a rectangular shape, and on top is a shallow pyramid roof. The front yard has flower beds that cover both sides of the patio. _Not much has changed since the last time I was here,_ Sunsets thinks as she gets off her bike and removes her helmet. She walks up the pathway and rings the doorbell. She hears a barking noise coming towards the door followed by the noise of claws scraping the door.

The lock unlocks and the door opens up slightly. Flash sticks his head out as he tries to keep his dog inside. "Hey you made it," he says, trying to keep the dog from escaping. "Excuse me a moment. Ranger is getting out of hand." The door closes as Flash pulls the dog to the backyard. Sunset remembers the German Shepherd from when they used to date, but he was just a puppy back then; now he's fully grown. Flash opens the door all the way, leading Sunset inside. "Sorry about that, Ranger can be pretty aggressive with guests at the door."

"Well he certainly isn't the puppy I remember," says Sunset jokingly.

"Is that your friend, Flash?" a gruff voice calls from up the entrance hall.

"Yeah dad, it's her," Flash responds. He leads Sunset to the end of the hall where the living room is. In the far corner is a recliner and in it sits a middle aged man reading a newspaper. He has dark blue hair shaped into a crew cut and his body is a lean medium build. He still has on his work clothes - a burgundy polo shirt, pressed khaki pants, and brown dress shoes. He looks up from his paper to see the two kids. "Sunset, you remember my dad Thunderchief, right?" Flash asks.

"Of course," Sunset says trying to be polite, "how are you doing sir?"

Thunderchief looks at Sunset with a stern face. He folds his paper, gets up from the recliner, and slowly walks towards Sunset. Even though he's only a few inches taller than her, he makes himself seem more colossal with every step. Sunset tries to maintain a polite demeanor, forcing a smile as he walks, but she feels her blood turn ice cold and a shiver run up her spine. Flash places his hand over his eyes and shakes his head. _Not this again,_ he thinks.

Thunderchief stops right in front of Sunset and looks down at her. Sunset can feel herself beginning to shrink. "So," he says in a stern tone, "the girl who broke my son's heart over a year ago has now found herself back in my house."

Sunset gulps hard and chuckles nervously. She can feel her heart rate begin to increase. Her anxiety subsides when she sees his face soften and he holds his hand out, requesting a shake. "Well, it's nice to see that the two of you are friends again," he says with a more friendly tone. Sunset accepts his handshake and gives him a firm one.

"Honey, you're not frightening Flash's little friend are you?" shouts a voice from the kitchen. Around the corner walks a short, round, middle-age women with short, light blue, curly hair. She wears a cream-orange t-shirt, light tan capris, sandals, and a flour covered apron. Her face lights up when she sees Sunset, "Oh my stars, Sunset darling, how are you?" she exclaims, walking over to give her a hug.

Sunset looks over and her face lights up as well when she sees her. "Mrs. Heartsong," Sunset says as accepts the hugs, "it's so good to see you again! I didn't know you would be here." When Sunset first met Heartsong, it was not long after her exile from Equestria, and when Flash and her had initially started out as friends. To Sunset, Heartsong was the closest thing to a mother figure she had in this world. There was always a place for Sunset in her home. Even when she became more cruel and distant, Heartsong always kept that space open hoping one day she would change back. After her reformation, Sunset was hesitant to go back to Heartsong, thinking there was no way she would take her back. It wasn't until a few weeks before Camp Everfree that the two ran into each other just down the street from Sugar Cube Corner. Heartson ran and embraced her, like the father and his prodigal son. Ever since then, the two have met up every now and then for coffee or tea, mending the relationship that was nearly lost between them.

Heartsong pulls away from their hug but keeps her hands on Sunset's shoulders. "I was finally given a few days off from the hospital so I can spend some time with my family," says Heartsong, smiling.

"Well Sunset and I are going to head up to my room and get started on her statistic project," Flash says, leading Sunset over to the stairs.

"Okay, but be sure to keep your door open mister," Heartsong says.

"Yes ma'am," Flash responds, looking at Sunset and rolling his eyes as he and Sunset make their way up the stairs. Sunset stifles a giggle that would almost certainly have been misinterpreted.

The two reach the top of the stairs and walk across the hall to the right. Flash opens the door to his room and leads Sunset in. Sunset scans the room and notices how neat it is. The last time she was here, the entire room resembled a pigsty. Now it's clean enough for a hotel guest. "Wow, I see you've been trying to keep things orderly in here," Sunset comments.

Flash sits down on his bed, "Yeah, I've been trying to live more like a civilized human recently," Flash responds, "now, shall we begin?"

"Yes, we shall," Sunset replies in a mock-formal voice.

[hr]

An hour and a half goes by. Flash spends that time trying to help Sunset get started on the big final project for her class. The assignment requires her to conduct a survey or experiment that revolves around a topic or question of her own interest. Sunset decided to go with an experiment around the question: does drinking coffee before an exam have any effect of the test takers performance? Within that hour and a half, the two come up with population targets, controls, sample sizes, test parameters, and so on.

Also during that time, they both were fighting an internal battle of emotions. Sunset caught herself many times laughing or giggling at something Flash said, even if it wasn't funny. Whenever Flash had to lean over Sunset to look at her notes or textbook, he could feel his heart fluttering when he got close to her, Sunset would feel the same as well. These kind of intense emotions, it was like they were still freshmen, and they disliked the distraction.

As they near the end of their studying, a knock is heard on the door. Flash, who's sitting at his desk chair, looks over and sees Scootaloo standing in the doorway, trying to keep herself from gushing. "What is it Scoots?" Flash asks.

Scootaloo collects herself and says, "Mom wants to know if you want anything to drink and if Sunset would like to stay for dinner?"

"I'll just have a bottled water," Flash responds, "What do you want Sunset?"

"I'll take a water as well," says Sunset, who's sitting on the bed, "and I would love to stay for dinner." Scootaloo nods and walks off. "By the way, when did Scootaloo become your sister?" Sunset asks Flash. "I don't remember you having any siblings when we 'dated.'"

"About a year ago," Flash says, "we adopted her a few months after you and I first broke up. Apparently no one knows who her birth parents were. She was just dropped off at the local orphanage one night when she was still a baby. No papers, just a name."

"Damn, that's pretty rough to hear," Sunset says, "but she seems to be happy being a part of the family now."

"Oh yeah, it's really nice not being an only child anymore," Flash says as he thinks about all the fun him and his sister have had the past year. Flash then changes the topic by asking, "Hey, do you mind if I ask you something?"

"Just as long as you don't ask me out," Sunset jokes, prompting Flash to chuckle nervously.

"No it's nothing like that," he says, stifling his laughter. "I actually wanted to ask you about those magical geodes you and your friends got at Camp Everfree. Like, what do they do?"

"Oh, well they essentially empower us with certain types of magic based on our personalities," Sunset explains as she pulls her geode up, "for instance, Rainbow Dash can run faster than any normal human and Fluttershy can communicate with animals."

"And what's your power?" Flash asks.

"I can see a person's memories by touching them," she says, "the memories I see are usually based on what I intend to find out but sometimes it can be controlled by my emotions."

Flash leans forward in his chair and holds out his hand. "Oh that's cool. You think you can try it on me?" he asks.

"Um, are you sure?" she asks with some caution.

"Yeah, I want to see this power for myself," he says, "besides, what's the worst you can see, the times I sang in the shower?" His eyes pop wide open and his cheeks begin to blush, "Actually, um, don't look at those."

Sunset giggles and leans forward. "Okay then," she says. She takes a hold of Flash's hand, concentrates, and, all of a sudden, her eyes glow white as she is taken back to a memory from a few years ago.

[hr]

It's the beginning of freshman year and a younger Flash Sentry walks through the halls among a crowd of students who are both taller and older than him. His clothes are similar to his normal get up but minus the windbreaker. He tries to navigate his way to his locker, hoping he can get his stuff arranged before the beginning of his first class. He weaves his way through the crowd, trying to get to his destination quicker. In his hurry, he is accidentally shoved, causing him to stumble out of the crowd and into a more open space. He attempts to regain his footing but he runs into another student. The two of them both hit the floor, spilling their contents everywhere.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry I didn't mean to run into you," Flash says, his voice cracking with nervousness. He gathers up all his belongings.

"No I should've gotten out of the way," says the other student in a young female voice. Once the two have all their items, they get up and get a look at each other. The student he ran into is a younger Sunset Shimmer. Her red and yellow hair is pulled over to her left side with a light blue flower in it. She wears a sky blue t-shirt with a sunset graphic centered on the chest, a black leather jacket with magenta lapels and golden suns on the hinges, a buttercup yellow skirt, and black boots with rings of gems.

Flash's pubescent mind is dumb striken at the sight of her. _Oh my gosh, she's pretty,_ he thinks as looks at her with his mouth wide open.

"Um, are you ok," Sunset asks with a confused look.

Flash snaps out of his euphoric state and quickly collects himself. "Sorry, um, hi, my name is Flash," he says lifting his hand up and giving a small wave, "I don't think I've seen you before. Are you new?"

"I'm… not from around here," Sunset responds sheepishly, trying to hide behind her hair.

"Do you have a name?" Flash asks, trying to get her to open up.

"Um, Sunset Shimmer," she responds quietly, but loud enough that Flash can hear.

"Well Sunset Shimmer, do you want to be friends?" Flash asks, "If we're going to survive our first day of high school, we oughta stick together."

Sunset comes out from behind her hair, looks at the boy giving her a friendly smile and holding out his hand. Sunset slowly puts out her hand in a fist-like shape, lets the boy take hold of it, and shakes. "I would like a friend in this strange new world," Sunset says.

Flash walks around to her side and puts his arm around her shoulders, smiling. "Well Sunset," he says, "now you've got one." The two then walk down the hall, together.

[hr]

The white glow from Sunset's eyes fade away as she comes back into the present. She takes a minute to process what she just saw.

"So, what did you see?" Flash asks.

"I saw… our first day of freshman year," Sunset responds, "the day we first met."

Flash leans back in his chair as he remembers that fond memory. "Oh yeah, I remember that," he says, he starts to chuckle a little, "I pretty much tackled you in the hall just trying to get to my locker."

"Well, the crowd of students certainly did help with things," Sunset commented.

"Yeah but at least I ran into you and not the school bully or Principal Celestia," Flash says.

"Seeing that memory, it makes me curious," Sunset remarks, "why were you so willing to be friends with someone you've never seen before?"

Flash leans forward in his chair. "You seemed like you really needed one," he says with a warm smile.

Sunset leans back on her arms. "You know, I never really gave much thought to that day," she says, "but, after seeing that again, I realize just how important that offer of friendship was."

"How so?" Flash asks.

"Well, that memory takes place about a week after I first came to this world," says Sunset, sitting up, "I had defied Princess Celestia's orders and broke her trust by coming here because I thought I could prove to her that I was ready for the next level. But when I entered, the portal closed just minutes after I arrived. I was a young and foolish girl trapped in a foreign place, in a foreign body, and was completely alone. When school started and I ran into you, you were the first person to offer me their friendship without question or prejudice. That meant the world to me in that moment."

Flash could feel his insides warm up. "Well, you can thank my mom for that," he says, glancing over Sunset's shoulder, "she always said that everyone needs a friend, no matter who they are or where they came from." He gives her a warm friendly look with a half smile.

Sunset wraps her arms around her lower torso, makes a half smile, then quickly looks down at the ground blushing. She briefly looks up at him then looks back at the ground. The tender moment is interrupted when they hear a knock at the door. They both look over and see Scootaloo standing there with two bottles of water. "Here's your guys's water," she says, walking over and handing them their drinks, "and Mom says the first pizza will be ready in about fifteen minutes but you need to come downstairs and prep your salad."

As Scootloo walks off, Flash takes a quick swig of his water before he calls out to her. "Hey Scoots," he says, Scootaloo turns around and looks at him, "I'm going to push for eight slices this time."

"Only eight slices?" she scoffs, "HA! Those are rookie numbers, I'm going for _twelve_." Scootaloo walks out of the room and down the stairs.

Sunset looks at Flash with a quizzical face. "Oh we have this little competition every time Mom makes homemade pizza," Flash explains, "We set a goal before dinner and whoever reaches or exceeds their goal first or is the closest by the time we're all full, doesn't have to clean up after dinner."

"And your mom makes enough to keep this going?" Sunset asks as she takes a drink of her water.

Flash takes a swig before he answers, "Oh yeah, Mom always makes sure to make enough pizza to last for a few meals." Flash gets up from his chair and sets the bottle on his desk. "Come on," he says, "we should go get our salads ready. And after dinner, we can play some Mortal Kombat."

Sunset stands up from the bed and also places the bottle on the desk. "Ok," she says, "but I should have you know that I'm a master with Kitana." She gives him a smug grin as she walks towards the door.

"We shall see," Flash says slyly, "but you won't stand a chance against me and Raiden." Flash then follows Sunset to the door.

Before Sunset walks through, she stops and turns to face Flash. "Oh and by the way," Sunset says as she points her finger at Flash, "ten slices." She then turns back around and walks over to the stairs. Flash shakes his head and chuckles, then makes his way towards the stairs.


End file.
